Edgenuity, a leading provider of online and blended learning solutions, today announced that it is offering new, dual credit general education courses through a partnership with Sophia, a company that creates online courses designed to promote subject-area mastery and engage students who are ready to take on college-level work.

Students will now be able not only to challenge themselves academically, but also to save valuable time and money by jumpstarting their college careers. The American Council on Education’s (ACE) College Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT®) has recommended credit for all of the courses, making the credits eligible for potential transfer to over 2,000 colleges and universities.

Scottsdale, AZ – March 25, 2013 – Edgenuity, a leading provider of online and blended learning solutions, today announced that it is offering dual credit courses which allow students to earn high school and college credit. The new, dual credit general education courses will be offered through a partnership with Sophia, a company that creates online courses designed to promote subject-area mastery and engage students who are ready to take on college-level work.

Students will now be able not only to challenge themselves academically, but also to save valuable time and money by jumpstarting their college careers. The American Council on Education’s (ACE) College Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT®) has recommended credit for all of the courses, making the credits eligible for potential transfer to over 2,000 colleges and universities.

Dual credit courses are gaining traction in high schools across the country. According to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 82 percent of high schools had students enrolled in dual enrollment courses during the 2010-11 school year. Furthermore, research from Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis has shown that dual enrollment programs can significantly increase the likelihood of attaining a college degree.“This new dual credit offering, which is also a strong alternative to AP courses, is yet another way that Edgenuity is preparing students for success through engaging and personalized curriculum,” said Edgenuity CEO Sari Factor. “These course offerings will help students achieve subject mastery and reach their academic goals while offering an affordable pathway to a college degree.”“Sophia is thrilled to partner with Edgenuity to help students jumpstart their college careers and lower the cost of their education,” said Allison Gage, president of SOPHIA.org. “While the cost of college continues to rise, we want to empower students to find innovative ways to accelerate their degree."

The dual credit courses are self-paced, helping students take ownership of their learning and demonstrate subject mastery before moving to the next concept. Sophia’s unique “Many Ways to Learn” approach provides multiple tutorials for each topic, allowing students to identify teachers whose style they prefer and follow those video instructors throughout the course. The courses are also tablet-ready and smartphone-friendly, so students can learn anytime, anywhere.

Districts and schools can choose how to implement the dual credit courses based on their academic needs. Sophia’s online courses can be taught and led by on-site teachers at a school or district or by Edgenuity’s virtual instructors. The eleven dual credit courses currently being offered include:

Accounting

Human Biology

Introductions to Statistics

Approaches to Studying Religions

Introduction to Art History

Microeconomics

College Algebra

Introduction to Psychology

Introduction to Sociology

Visual Communications

Conflict Resolution

For more information on Edgenuity’s dual credit offerings, click here.About EdgenuityEdgenuity (formerly E2020, Inc) provides engaging online education solutions that propel success for every student, empower every teacher to deliver more effective instruction, and enable schools and districts to meet their academic goals. Edgenuity delivers a range of Core Curriculum, AP®, Elective, Career and Technical Education (CTE), and Credit Recovery courses aligned to the rigor and high expectations of state, Common Core and iNACOL standards and designed to inspire life-long learning.

Fully flexible for use in any blended or online learning model, Edgenuity supports an environment where personalized learning is possible. With over 200 semester-long courses and growing, Edgenuity has already driven outcomes for more than one million students in schools and districts across the country. For more information, and to see Edgenuity in action visit Edgenuity.com.

About SophiaSophia.org offers an affordable path to a college degree with Sophia Pathways for College Credit – online courses for college credit. In addition, Sophia.org provides free tools and resources to teachers, including 38,000 academic tutorials on a variety of subjects, and professional development opportunities. Sophia is a subsidiary of Capella Education Company. For more information, visit Sophia.org